


The Setup

by RandomObserver



Series: The Snap Stories [2]
Category: The Mandalorian, The Mandalorian (LadyIrina AU)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Found Family, Stupid squad leaders and their stupid matchmaking, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:13:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24917392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RandomObserver/pseuds/RandomObserver
Summary: A snowstorm knocked out some signal towers where SS-913 is stationed. There is a repair team on the way, but she fears her squad leader’s shenanigans.
Relationships: Corin the Stormtrooper (Rescue and Regret) & Original Female Character(s), Dee (LadyIrina)/Drop (LadyIrina)
Series: The Snap Stories [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1793911
Comments: 15
Kudos: 19





	1. Sunset

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LadyIrina](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyIrina/gifts).



It's early evening at Imperial Relay 034-B and SS-913 is on watch. She is a silent figure in white armor, blue pauldron worn with pride and her beloved RT-97C blaster rifle in her arms, standing high above the base on their only working signal tower. It's been a quiet day, nothing but scanning the tops of the mountains in the distance, trying not to get blinded by the fresh snow reflecting the sun even through her tinted visor, and occasionally turning around to make sure the station is still there. 

The layout of the outpost is similar to every other relay station in the empire. There is a central area for drilling troops. The barracks, armory and mess hall on the north end, three signal towers to the south with catwalks connecting them, and landing zones to the east and west. 

From her post on the catwalks, Snap can see the entire valley the station is nestled in. Snow blankets the entire basin, sparkling in the dying light. The sky burns with the vibrant evening colors beginning to shine over the mountains. The snow outside of their shadows glows gold as the sun sinks further. Absolutely gorgeous and she could watch it all day, but the serenity of the view is soured by the chatter over the comms. 

Unfortunately, the storm that dropped the beautiful snow fried two of the towers. It's been hectic for everyone else though. Ever since they went out of service, Captain Jameson has been desperate to get someone, ANYONE out to get it fixed. 

The wait is at an end though. Apparently there is a squad of four on their way with repair materials and a resupply for the entire station. Snap is looking forward to the return of her favorite spicy ration packs more than the idea of getting the relay back to full functionality. If it were up to her, the whole damn war would be over and everyone would go home, but she's just a sniper, it's not her call. So, she will do as she is assigned until there are no more assignments to receive. 

And right now her assignment is to stand watch. So here she is, waiting for the transport to bring in the resupply and reinforcements. That is, if a four man squad could be considered reinforcements to a base of fifty troopers. 

Fifty troopers that her squad leader, Myron, has been trying to pick through to find her a match. He thinks she's "too lonely" and "so shy she'll never find someone on her own". She rolls her eyes at the memory. Snap loves Myron, but he's done this every time their squad is sent somewhere new and he's been unsuccessful every time. Well, mostly unsuccessful. There were a few nice one night stands, but she never really liked any of them as people. And Snap KNOWS that if anyone on the new squad is any kind of attractive and in her age range her squad leader is going to be unbearable. 

Snap sighs, resigned. It has been a while since the last guy, a pilot a few months ago. She might not even fight Myron this time around; just go on the damn date, act disinterested, and go on my way. Snap shakes her head. What is she even thinking? It might just be a bunch of grizzled mechanics that even Myron on his pushiest day wouldn't think about setting her up with. Or maybe some other women for a change! Yeah, maybe they’ll even be chill and not total bitches or trying to sleep their way to the top like almost EVERY OTHER FEMALE TROOPER Snap has ever met. She could hope! Right?

Her train of thought gets derailed as a shape flying over the mountains catches her attention. Shifting her scope to her eye reveals the shape as a cargo ship, probably the supplies everyone's been buzzing about. 

She presses a finger to the communicator in her helmet, "Captain, this is SS-913 reporting a ship incoming from the southeast."

The reply takes no time at all. The captain's smooth voice fills her ear, "Thank you SS-913. It's one of ours, they're expected. Let them through and remain at your post."

"Affirmative Captan. SS-913 standing by." 

The comms are lit up by a flurry of notifications and assignments. Most of which are to help unload the cargo. The ship lands on the eastern pad amidst a flurry of troopers. The sea of white armor parts for the cargo door to be lowered and the squad everyone's been expecting exits. 

Through her scope, Snap inspects the first two. Both have beards, one is clearly older with gray streaking through his dark hair. Both look too old for Myron's schemes. The next one is clean shaven, easy on the eyes, but still not close enough. Snap is beginning to think she might be spared. 

Until the clean shaven one beckons out the last of the new arrivals. 

Oh no...

Her HUD identifies him as CT-113. He's tall, way taller than her middling 170cm. Brilliant blue eyes peer out from a perfectly sculpted face, fixed on something in the distance. The man has the jawline of a god. And to make matters even worse, he's young. Snap's age kind of young. His shoulders are drawn in, like he doesn’t want to be seen. His steps down the ramp to his team are cautious, almost reluctant. When he reaches his team, the oldest wraps an arm around his shoulder and begins steering him... toward Myron?

Snap’s shoulders sink. She can almost hear Myron cackling already. This CT-113 guy is definitely getting caught in Myron’s plans, it’s just a matter of time. 

Snap wallows in her dread of what her squad is about to scheme up. Well, squad being a generous term. 

Unlike infantry and their squads of four to ten, snipers were only assigned with a single "handler". The handler then answers directly to the captain. Thus, fewer people knew a sniper's location in a engagement. The handler's most important task is to assign locations and targets to their sniper. The last handler she'd had was cold and practical with little regard for her as a person. He never even told her his name and only answered to his designation, SH-127. To him, she was nothing more than a number and a gun, a tool to be used as he saw fit. And did he ever treat her like a piece of equipment... he left her alone when she performed well, but when she didn't perform to his standards it wasn't fun for anyone involved. Several months ago, she had finally gotten desperate requested a reassignment. Anything would be better than that nightmare.

Snap's transfer was almost immediate. Apparently not even her previous captain, Captain Stone, could approve of SH-127 and his treatment of such an important imperial asset. Snap's distaste for being reduced to an "imperial asset" is overshadowed by the relief of being out from under her handler's thumb. To her surprise and initial delight, her new handler, HK-212, or Myron as he insisted she call him, wasn't like SH-127 at all. First of all, her new handler wasn't that much bigger than her, a head taller at most instead of the staggering 200cm of SH-127. Also, Myron almost never wore his helmet when he didn't have to. He was an older guy and his face was starting to show the lines that come with age, but his blond hair was free of gray and his blue eyes still held a youthful twinkle. Myron was stern when needed yes, but most of the time he was playful and almost... parental. Once he'd heard how badly her previous handler had treated her, Myron basically adopted her. And Snap... didn't hate it. He's a much better dad than Papa. Of course she would NEVER admit that fact to anyone, even with a blaster to her head. 

Myron liked to push her out of her comfort zone on a regular basis. Since she's been assigned to him he's pushed her to use her nickname instead of her designation, to go without her helmet in her downtime, and even find a hobby(she's found whittling quite cathartic). It's hard, especially after how long she's been treated as just a gun, but his meddling made Snap feel... human.

As much as she's grateful to Myron for re-teaching her to be a person, he has one habit that she both loves and hates equally. Matchmaking. He'd told her in the second month of being paired with him, "I know snipers get lonely up in their perches, all by themselves, but I'm going to fix that!" At first she thought he had meant finding her a friend, but no, he was trying to finder her a partner. She liked it because she actuall met some nice guys who actually showed her a good time. But, she also HATED it with a burning passion because for every good guy, there was a bad one who she had to remind how she'd gotten her name. They always rotated like a coin flipping end over end; heads then tails, good guy then pervy asshole. The last guy, a pilot named Beau, had been great, so Snap isn't looking forward whatever Myron is planning about this CT-113 guy. 

Speaking of her handler...

"Hey Snaaap," Myron sing-songs into the squad comms. 

She ignores him. She's supposed to be on watch!

"Oh Snip Snap," he tries again, wanting a response.

She turns away from where she sees him staring up at her while he's supposed to be unloading the supplies. Maybe if she ignores him, he'll leave it. 

She knows she's just trying to fool herself.

"Snapshot I got something to tell ya!"

Fine. 

"What?" She sighs. 

She can hear how smug he is. "I," he pauses for effect, "just found out that this new kid, the one with the dashing good looks, is single and looking for a date!"

What the? She cannot contain her confusion. "They've been here FIVE MINUTES! How do you know that?"

"Because I'm kriffing amazing!" She can hear his grin. 

"Myron," she admonishes. 

He sighs. "Fine, I know because my old friend Drop is in his squad, and he's just like me!"

Snap scoffs at that. "Two Myrons? How is the empire still standing?"

"I'll just repeat myself. Because I'm kriffing amazing!"

"Sure you are."

Myron just laughs. His confidence and cheer are always infectious and Snap just has to smile, yeah he is pretty amazing. She may have been a bit snarly, but he's been around her long enough to know she's never truly mad at him for his antics. He leaves her alone after that to listen to the white noise of the troopers unloading the ship as she continues to stand on watch.


	2. Dorm Room Discussions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snap’s watch is over, but that means Myron gets to start his schemes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to @cacodaemonia for proofreading!

Snap was relieved of watch long after dinner, so Myron grabbed one of her favorites, a hot bowl of spicy noodles. It was just the thing she needed after a long, chilly day up on the catwalks. She scarfed down her food, like usual, and retired to the room she shared with her handler. After a 12 hour shift of doing nothing except for announcing one transport, she didn't want to interact with anyone.

Their room is very minimal, a square space with a door to the hallway in the center of one wall and one light bar in the exact center of the ceiling. There is a bunk on either side of the room with footlockers sitting at the foot of both bunks, one clearly more marked up than the other. SH-127 was of the opinion that snipers should have no secrets from their handlers and often took a pry-bar to the only privacy she had. There's not much that Snap likes about their room, but she knows she definitely likes the privacy of a footlocker to hide her personal things in. Goodness knows she doesn't have many to begin with. Hidden in her footlocker right now is a small book, no bigger than her hand, filled with pictures of different places and things she has seen and never wanted to forget. The worn out leather covers are tied closed with a strip of white ribbon she wore back when she had long hair, before the academy. The whole thing is wrapped in a gray undershirt and stashed the very bottom of her belongings. Maybe she could ask Myron for the insta-print camera she KNOWS he has stashed in his footlocker so she can capture the snowy valley before it's gone. 

Snap is laying down on her bunk, wearing sweatpants and a baggy sweatshirt both of which display the imperial symbol in black on the gray fabric, scrolling through her datapad and pretending to not watch Myron's every move as he paces across the room in the same sweatpants and a white short-sleeved undershirt.

They both know he's going to talk about CT-113, but Myron wants her to ask first and at least act interested before he announces his plot. This is a familiar part of the cycle of Snap's love life. "Love" being used very loosely. She has to admit she's dreading the conversation a bit. It's always an ordeal, the process of meeting someone, getting to know them a bit, and either kicking their ass because they're a jerk or having a nice little fling. If she's honest with herself she's tired of it, no matter how good of a lay a guy turns out to be, it's always over within a week. On the other hand, the sooner she gets the process started, the sooner it will be over.

Later. For now, a different conversation needs to be had.

Snap sighs, sits up, and turns her datapad off. She wasn't really reading anything anyway. "Okay, we both know how this goes."

Myron smiles at her and stops his pacing to sit down on the edge of his own bunk, elbows on his knees. "Yeah, we do. So," he spreads his hands in a question, "new kid. What do you think of him?"

She takes a deep breath and lets it all out. "After one look from 50 feet in the air?"

Myron smiles and rolls his eyes good-naturedly, "C'mon Snapshot, just give me something."

"Well," She leans back against the wall, "he's pretty, I'll give him that."

"Okay," Myron agrees, "anything else?"

She closes her eyes and tries to analyze the memory of CT-113's arrival. Why nobody on that squad was wearing a helmet was odd, but not unheard of. "He was last off the ship, probably nervous." She remembers his drawn in shoulders and cautious steps. 

Myron nods, encouraging her to continue.

"He obviously has a good relationship with his team," the clean shaven trooper who called him out was smiling at him. He looked fond, paternal. 

She shrugs then, aside from that there wasn't much else to glean from CT-113's flat expressions. He seemed like just another pretty boy not well suited to the life of a trooper. "I just don't get how he's single," she gnaws at her thumbnail, puzzled. "With a face like that and a team hyping him up he could probably get anyone... he... wanted..." she trails off, thinking again. 

Snap remembers one tiny detail. CT-113's eyes, those stunning blue eyes. There was definitely something there just beneath the surface. The way that brilliant gaze of his lit up and relaxed as soon as he stepped off the transport. It was almost like he'd become a different person. It was the same look she'd seen on her own face in the mirror once she'd come to terms with her reassignment to Myron and the end of SH-127's torment. It was surprise and relief, like a weight lifted off his shoulders and he could breathe for the first time. 

Then it clicked and she released her abused nail, "he was like me wasn't he?"

Myron's face tells her all she needs to know. "His name's Corin Valentis. His squad leader, Dee, brought him out here to get him away from his father. You might've heard of him, Macero."

"Hasn't everyone?" The Valentis brothers are infamous for being scummy social climbers and not afraid to step on others to push themselves higher. She didn't know that the elder brother had a son though. 

"Well, Corin's a good guy but, Macero lives up to his reputation of being a complete asshole, even to his own son. And it doesn't help that the kid is shy on top of regularly getting kicked around by his father. Drop wants to find him, what was the phrase he used? 'Someone scoring better than just fine.' Something like that."

Snap breathes deep, considering how this might play out. What do you get when you put a handsome shy guy with a sniper? "I'm assuming your buddy Drop is talking to him about me right now?"

Myron nods. "So, I'll ask again. What do you think?"

Snap quirks a small grin, "I think I'm down for it if he is."

The smile Myron returns is much brighter. "Great! I'll let Drop know in the morning!" He rises from his bunk and walks over to kill the lights. "So get some sleep, I've got a big day planned for tomorrow."

Snap frowns into the dark, burrowing into her covers. Tomorrow will definitely be interesting.

"Hey," Snap gently warns, "If he really is like me, then anything big will just make him more nervous, y'know? Maybe think small this time?" Her date with Beau had involved speeder bikes and an abandoned pod-racing track. 

She listens to Myron settle into his own bunk in the long beat of silence that follows.

"Yeah, I can do that," he agrees softly. "Get some rest kiddo."

Satisfied with his promise, she rolls onto her back, closes her eyes, and does exactly that.


	3. Dark Side of the Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snap's own mind is one of her worst enemies
> 
> TW: Thoughts of suicide

The vision that she finds herself in is one she is intimately familiar with. She's barefoot in a blue dress that whips around her knees in the cutting wind. Wild brown hair dances around her face, barely restrained by the white ribbon in her hair. The wind seems to pull her toward the canyon before her. The yawning chasm calls her toward the narrow thread of a river reflecting the brilliant sunset above her. She's found herself here too many times. 

She knows this is a dream. When she was under SH-127's thumb, her soul found this place, crying for an escape. That escape turned out to be this place with everything she wanted: her long hair, a beautiful view, and a glorious storm of wind to carry her there. 

A flash of white catches the corner of her eye. It's her ribbon. The gale tugged it free and is now making it dance away from her and down toward the river far below. She reaches out to chase that strip of white flying away from her, steps forward, and she's flying away. She's flying to that brilliantly bright ribbon of light.

A blink and she hits the water. When she surfaces through the cloud of bubbles, she's at sea being tossed about by the swells around her. There's no land in sight and the light of the sun is gone. In the growing darkness, the blue dress that had danced so weightlessly in the wind before is now dragging her under the waves. She goes down without a fight, relaxed. She sees a shape below her. It's her ribbon again, spiraling playfully near her legs. She snatches it out of the current and holds it close to her chest, content. This is what she wanted right? 

Drifting further down, she watches the patterns of the crashing waters above her. It's beautiful, relaxing. The rolling lines lull her into a trance. In her relaxed state, she watches a cloud of bubbles rise away from her. She welcomes the burning in her lungs as the last of the light fades away. 

Snap opens her eyes to the sight of the flat gray of the bunk above her. She knows without looking at her datapad it's nowhere near dawn. Her heart is racing in her chest as silent tears trail from her eyes. 

She hates that dream. Before she was transferred to Myron, that dream was a paradise. Now, it's just a nightmare. 

Snap swings her legs over the edge of her bunk. There's no way she can go back to sleep. A long look at Myron confirms that she hadn't woken him. He's still laying on his back with one arm thrown above his head as his chest rises and falls with sleeping breaths. Hastily, she wrings off the damp shirt clinging to her skin. Running her shaking hands through her sweaty buzzed hair grounds her. She's here. She's alive. She grabs a bra and an undershirt out of her footlocker and throws them on. She needs to go get rid of this trembling in her hands. And there's only one place on base for that, the weight room. 

She grabs her shoes and jacket, it'll be freezing this early. Snap silently stalks from the barracks and across the frosted courtyard. Habit makes her lift her booted feet above the grass to leave as little of a trail as possible. When she reaches the steel door of her destination, she passes through as quietly as she can. A blast of heated air welcomes her into the haven and the door falls closed behind her. The room is empty this early in the morning, perfect. The fact that there's no one to ogle her while she works out is the main reason she comes at what Myron calls a "stupid kriffing early" hour. He never understood why she spends so much time here, but she just gets these shaking spells when she spends too long with nothing but her own thoughts. 

The empty room is in two layers. The floor of the area is mostly weights and benches with a few pull-up bars on the wall. The upper level is a track running around the perimeter of the room like a circular balcony. Normally she would run a few laps before beginning, but today she is interrupted by a blast of cold air from the door opening and closing behind her.

"Hey, you're Snap right?" An unfamiliar voice calls out. 

The only person on base who calls her that is Myron. Apprehensive, Snap turns toward where she heard the voice come from and is greeted by the sight of a man with blue eyes and a playful glint in his eyes. She recognizes him as the clean-shaven trooper who had arrived yesterday. Well, not clean-shaven anymore as there is a shadow of dark brown scruff along his jaw that matches the color of his messy hair. This must be Drop. She studies his attire. He wears the same sweatpants and T-shirt combination Myron is fond of with a dark jacket thrown over his shoulders. A glance down to his shoes reveals the sparkle of unmelted frost clinging to them. She would put money on there being a perfect trail on the ground outside tracing his path to the door. 

"Yes that's me," Snap replies shakily. What does he want with her?

He just smiles, "Myron wasn't kidding when he said you got up stupid kriffing early!" 

Snap hears the unvoiced question. She brings in her shoulders and crosses her arms over her unarmored stomach, "It's quiet this early." She murmurs. All the better for running away from the nightmare nipping at her heels.

"Well, I hear you've got eyes on our kid Corin, and I just wanted to see what you're about," the glint in his eyes turns mischievous. "From what Myron says it sounds like you two might be a good fit."

Oh kriff... this is an evaluation. "O-okay?" Great now her voice is shaking. Ever since SH-127, evaluations always set her on edge. Is she up to standard? There's no way she will be, not like this. How bad is it going to be if she's not? She forces her face to lose any emotions that may betray her. Quit it! She tries to scold herself. 

The door opens again and the frigid morning air carries another of the new arrivals into the room. Drop turns to look as well and his smile splits to grin at him. He's dressed much the same as Drop, but his jacket is zipped up to the collar instead of draped open. His brown hair is longer than Drop's but is much more groomed than the bedhead his friend is sporting. His eyes are a light gray-blue and are fixing Drop with a familiarly stern look. It's the look of someone disapproving of something they're unfortunately also amused by. She's seen it on the captain's face any time he has to address Myron's antics. 

He calmly looks over the scene before him. Something he sees in Drop's shameless smile and Snap's stance and curled shoulders softens his expression to something more mild. 

He puts a hand on Drop's shoulder. "Drop, could you go back to the bunks?" His voice is surprisingly mild for the authority behind it.

Drop's smile immediately dims. 

He's probably Dee then, that's exactly the same tone Myron uses when he gives an order the gentlest way he can. Like when she's pushed herself too hard at the range and he tells her to get some rest.

Dee gives Drop's shoulder a gentle push toward the door, "Go, you know how he gets when he wakes up alone."

Drop tries to protest, "But Pat's there!"

"Drop," Dee gives him an imploring look. "Please. I'll take it from here."

Drop glances at her face and his expression falls completely. He must see the shadows behind her tired brown eyes. He sighs and nods, leaving the building without any further argument. Snap and Dee both turn to watch as the draft follows him out and the door closes behind him.

Dee turns to her then, "I'm sorry about him," he smiles gently, reassuring. "He gets a little too excited whenever he finds someone he thinks Corin will like."

Snap just shifts uneasily, unsure if she is supposed to respond to that. 

Dee blinks as if he just realized something. "Oh, sorry! I never introduced myself!" He extends his hand to shake. "I'm Dee, Corin's team leader."

Hesitant, she reaches out and gives his hand a single shake, "Snap."

He nods and releases her hand. She wraps her arm back around herself.

"Myron's already told us a bit about you," Dee begins, his warm voice calm and soothing to her jangled nerves. "Just your likes and dislikes and a bit about you as a person. He also said he'd talked to you about Corin?"

Snap nods, "Not much though. Just why you guys brought him out here and that his dad's terrible to him like my old handler..." she trails off. Why did she mention SH-127? 

"Yes, Myron told us about him as well," Dee grumbles. It sounds angry, but it doesn't feel like it's directed at her. "That's part of the reason Drop brought up this arrangement." He shakes his head lightly, dismissing that train of thought. "Anyway, Myron told me you said to try something small for you and Corin?"

"I don't really think a lot of attention will be something either of us will enjoy." Snap tries to make herself sound sure and confident, but with any authority outside of Myron and the captain she still struggles with the instinct to cower. "Did- did you have any suggestions?" Please don't make her come up with ideas, not when her mind is still spiralling.

Dee lifts a hand to scratch at his beard, thinking for a moment. "Maybe we'll just set you up with some drinks, some food, and a quiet spot out of the way of everything so it's just you two. Your thoughts?"

Relieved, Snap relaxes for the first time that morning, "yeah, that sounds nice."

Dee's smile lights up his pale eyes with a happy gleam, "do you know anywhere that fits the bill?"

Her shoulders bunch up again, "uh..." does she know anywhere? "Last week I was on patrol and there was a little frozen pond about a kilometer north. It's quiet out there but you can still see the relay towers."

Dee smiles warmly. "Yeah, he'll love it."

Snap stands a little straighter as a tiny curl of pride cuts through the anxious knot in her chest. It's not a sensation she feels very often.

Dee continues, "We'll get it set up then. This evening before sundown. Myron will let you know when to get ready."

She nods, trying to smile at him. For a stranger's squad leader, he's really nice. 

Dee starts to leave for the door, but he stops and looks over his shoulder. "Are you alright?" He fully faces her then. 

Damn, the smile must've looked too forced. He looks so... open though. His eyes are soft, like he's truly concerned.

Any resolve lingering inside her disappears with those kind words. Anyone else would simply take them at face value, a casual inquiry, but Snap... Snap isn't just anyone else. Those words break her heart.

Her face crumples, "No." Her voice breaks on that one word and the tears from before are back. They fall silently, without heaving breaths or shaking cries. 

Dee's face falls as her composure breaks. "C'mere kid." He steps forward and wraps her in his arms without a second thought. 

Snap doesn't even think as she lets herself collapse into the embrace of someone she barely knows. Myron knows him so that's good enough for her. He's warm and solid when she brings her arms up to clutch at his shoulders as her chest shakes with suppressed sobs. She just cries silently as she holds on like she's going to fly apart. Dee doesn't try to talk either as she buries her face into his shoulder, not even when her tears soaked into his jacket. Crying feels good; SH-127 never tolerated it. Dee just runs a comforting hand across her back as she tries to pull herself together. They stand there until her tears run out. 

Feeling drained, Snap draws in a shuddering breath and steps back. She scrubs her stinging eyes with the cuffs of her jacket sleeves. 

"I'm sorry," she croaks. "I shouldn't have-"

Dee cuts her off. "Hey, hey, hey," he soothes and puts a hand on both her shoulders and looks earnestly into her eyes. "You will never have to apologize to me for just being human."

Snap looks at him, disbelieving. He doesn't even know her, why would he care?

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asks gently.

Snap shakes her head. No one needs to know what goes on in her head. 

"Okay," he nods, accepting her answer. "Tell you what, how about we go get you some tea? That alway helps me when I feel down."

She nods with a sniff. Tea sounds nice.

Dee wraps an arm around her shoulders and leads her out into the frosty morning air. "C'mon, I know Pat has some nice jasmine in his bags somewhere."

Snap follows along as they retrace the disturbed path through the frost back toward the barracks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta'd by the amazing cacodaemonia!


	4. Safe and Warm

Snap's fatigued shoulders slump into Dee's side as he guides her through the barracks toward his squad's quarters. His arm around her shoulders is just about the only thing keeping her walking forward instead of retreating to her room to hide in her bunk. She keeps her eyes on the floor as she tries to stay in step with his frost-covered boots. The only sounds as they walk are the swish of fabric, the hum of the lights in the walls, and one set of footsteps echoing through the empty halls. Dee obviously takes note of that last detail.

"Has anyone ever told you you're really quiet when you walk?"

Snap glances at him, confused before looking back at her feet. "Not really." She frowns, "it's just habit I guess..." 

Silent footfalls always meant Father would stay asleep longer. Thankfully, that fact applied to SH-127 as well. Myron has shown no signs of being like either of them, but she's kept in practice just in case.

They're at an open door before Dee can ask what she meant. The light from inside spills out into the hallway along with Drop's voice. It sounds much less animated than before. 

"...nd Dee decided to send me back."

A new voice joins his, tired and gruff. "That still doesn't explain why you had to wake me up." 

Dee cuts in before Drop can respond, stepping into the doorway and gently pulling Snap along. "Because we need into your secret stash of tea and you refuse to tell us the combo."

Snap looks up from her feet to see a room very similar to her own, the only difference being the number of occupants and their belongings. The bed on the left has Drop draped dramatically over the edge of the top bunk. On the right is the oldest looking of the squad laid out under a blanket on the bottom bunk and peeking under the arm thrown over his eyes, clearly not enthused about being up before the sun even touched the sky. On the top of the right bunk sitting cross-legged is Corin, his blue eyes curious as to who the newcomer under Dee's arm is. 

"This here is Snap, she's going to hang out here for a bit."

Snap tries to straighten up, make herself presentable. Even if Dee has been kind so far, she doesn't want his teammates to meet her at her lowest. 

She fails. One by one, she sees the comprehension appear in the gazes that fall upon her blotchy, red face. Drop's eyes soften at her, understanding why he had been sent away. The man on the bottom bunk , presumably Pat, sits up with an accepting look on his face before he rolls to his knees and he fiddles with the lock on the crate tucked under the bed. 

The last pair of eyes though... Corin's eyes, as bright as the sky over the ocean she grew up on. Those eyes are a window to a soul just like hers. It's been beaten and bruised by the past, but not broken. He looks at her with a recognition that should be impossible, but it's like they've known each other for years

Snap sends him her first real smile of the day. It's small and shaky, but it's real. The strangest thing about it all is that she feels as if she already knows him, and something about the cautious smile he gives her tells her that he feels the same. Myron may have intended for the two of them to hook up, but Snap just doesn't feel the spark. She can tell Corin doesn't either. There's no heated tension between them, just the warmth of two kindred spirits meeting. There is whispering in their minds of "you're like me"

"Hello," Snap's voice is quiet and raspy from crying.

Corin smiles a little wider. "Hi."

A little voice echoes in the back of her mind, "good luck." It sounds happy, relieved.

Pat rises from his footlocker, clutching a small box in his hand. "I'll need a kettle."

Drop perks up. "Oh! Myron said there was one in the mess hall!"

Dee shifts his arm from around her shoulders to place a warm hand on her back. "Why don't you hop up and sit with the Kid?" She nods, and steps away from the sheltering touch on her back. "Pat, if you come with me we'll get that kettle." Pat nods and rises to his feet. "Drop, could you go get Myron?"

"Yes sir!" Drop throws up a goofy salute and hops down from his bunk and practically bounces out of the room. 

"And Kid?" Dee looks to Corin. "Are you going to be good?"

Corin looks to Snap as she pulls herself up onto his bunk. "We'll be fine." 

When she settles down to sit next to Corin it feels nice, safe even. She takes a chance and leans her shoulder against his. She's just so tired after the nightmare this morning. There's no reason for her to feel this at ease with someone she's just met, but something about him just draws her in, like a ship to a sheltered harbor. 

Corin's arm is warm as he places it around her shoulders. Dee nods, smiling at the two of them, and leaves the room with Pat in tow. After the door closes behind them, She and Corin are left alone. 

Snap sighs, exhausted, and puts her head on Corin's shoulder, closing her still stinging eyes. "Is this okay?"

"It's fine." 

She relaxes into him and murmurs, "I don't mean to bother you. It's just that..." she struggles to find the words. "He just saw right through me." She was referring to Dee and his uncanny perception before he swept her up under his wing and brought her here. 

"Yeah, he does that." Corin lays his head on hers and lets out a long breath. "Nightmare?" The warmth from his arm sinks into her knotted shoulders, relaxing her further. The light pressure of his head on hers grounds her back in reality.

She sighs, smiling slightly and realizing she was caught, as she sinks further into his side, "how could you tell?"

"I get the same look after I've had a rough night," he reveals softly. Barely more than a murmur as he soothes his thumb over her shoulder

Corin's touch and voice warms her from her fingertips to her toes. It's the most comfortable she's felt in months. Corin's solid chest gently rocks her as he breathes. Her racing heart finally slows as the adrenaline from the nightmare and Dee startling her falls away. Her clenched jaw relaxes as everything melts away. The reddish glow of the lights through her eyelids turns to black as her consciousness fades away.


End file.
